Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1887-03-24
Thousands of Bacteria in Ice Wa
ter.
DIR. PRUDDEN WANTS THE STATE BOARD OF
HEALTH TO INVESTIGATE THE Ice MAKING

HEALTH TO INVESTIGATE THE Ice MAKING
DIR. T. Mitchell Prudden, specialist in
abe study of bacili, has added another misery
to life in New York by discovering that
every glass of iced water one drinks contains
from $1,000 to $40, 900 living bacteria. The
half pint of Croton water, as he demonstrates,
has some $4,000 of these parasitic animal
cules to start with, and the little piece of ice,
as it comes from some placid lake like Rock
land or Van Courtlandt or from the dirty
Hudson river, contributes from 900 to $685.
900 more.
DR.. Prudden lectured last night before the
New York Academy of Medicine in West
Thirty first street. on Bacteria in Ice, with
epecial application to the Hudson river sup
ply" He had spread over the wall and gal
lery ratings behind the Presidents chair with
charts and ominous looking tables of black
figures and many of his audience, no doubt,
went away vowing in the future to foreswear
drinking water with its germs of typhoid fever
and cholera and blood poisoning and risk
Bright's disease with ale or beer. All water,
DR. Prudden began, was full of bacteria, yet
many species of bacteria were harmless.
Some were even useful to the body's growth
and development. Water that had but fifty
bacteria in it to each cubic ceptimetre could
be taken with impunity. With more than
fifty to the cubic centmetre, it was dangerous
- unless filtered 1t was the same way with
lee. small piece of clear ice might hold
q million and half of fever bacteria, without
ones suspecting it in the least. Freezing did
kill of a great number of bacteria, especially
Of the more harmless sort. But one cubic
centimetre of ice frozen for II days had still
$4,000 of typhoid fever germs alive in it
New York's ice supply, DR.. Prudden contin-
yued was drawn chiefly from the Hudson river,
between Poughkeepsie and Albany. Three
millions of tons we're gathered here. Only
$50, 900 tons came from the lakes and pond,
Two-thirds Of the Hudson river ice was cut
within thirty mics of Albany. One-fourth
of it was cut within twelve miles of Albany.
Yet from Troy and Albany $4,000, 900 cubic
.ceptmetres of sewage were let into the river
every day. There was little current and
much stagnant water behind the islands be-
low Albany. half pint of water from the
river here contained at least soc, 900 bacteria.
The average number of bacteria in a cubic
centimetre of transparent ice was 39S; in a
cubic centmetre of snow ice, 9,lS7. But
transparent ice from the Hudson fields con.
tanned nearly 600 to the centmetre, and
the snow ice nearly 20 600 Croton Pond
ice, SO called had 6lS and 2, 469 for the two
kinds of ice Rockland Lake ice had Isl and
4ll6; Swartwood Lake, 20 and sos; Van
Courtlandt Lake, Is and 81; Tuckahoe Pond
6 and 63 and Verplank's Point Pond and !.
A fair average for river ice, the lecturer
thought. was 1913, for lake and pond ice IS.
DR.. Prudden suggested that the State Board
of Heal b should egin rigorous inspection
of the ice making on the Hudson. Some
action should be taken to disinfect the sewage
shat poured into the river from Albany and